Chapter 207: Chapter-207

Many nobles were arrested. But there was a problem.

According to imperial law, if even a servant was arrested for crimes, the master had to bear some responsibility. And Raphael, as an imperial consort married to the Empress, was technically under her authority.

So Heena, as the ruler of the empire and master of all, had to accept some public scrutiny for her connection to the Church through her marriage.

Taking down the Church was like disturbing a beehive with bare hands. Heena had done it—captured many corrupt officials, exposed the conspiracy.

But the problem was the *believers*.

People who followed corrupt leaders could have their faith broken by exposing those leaders as frauds.

But people who believed in ’God’ itself? Even if they died, they would not stop believing. And many saw Heena’s attack on the Church as an attack on their faith itself.

So there was significant public unrest. Even though Heena suppressed the worst of it and managed the crisis carefully, it didn’t mean she could completely eliminate the opposition.

The situation was tense and ongoing.

And to make matters worse, today was the day of the paternity hearing.

—

It was the third day since Larus and Heena had been unable to see each other properly.

One month had already gone by, passing quickly due to endless work and crises.

And now it was time for the court to determine the biological father of Seraphina’s child.

The physicians had confirmed they could now perform accurate testing.

Lady Seraphina was brought into the throne room.

And literally, people scrunched up their noses because she was ’smelling’. The stench was disgusting—weeks of stable work, poor hygiene, stress, and the complete breakdown of her former pampered lifestyle had taken their toll.

And thanks to Seraphina’s System being captured and removed, her protagonist halo was completely gone. She no longer had that supernatural charm that made people’s hearts flutter just by looking at her.

Now she just looked like a crazy, disheveled woman. Not that charming, pitiful heroine that could manipulate everyone’s emotions with a single tear.

She looked… broken. Insane. Pathetic.

The five consorts were also present, standing on one side of the throne room. Seraphina stood on the opposite side.

Heena sat on the imperial throne, wearing a formal black coat embroidered with gold—gorgeous to look at, but the black color was symbolic. Black was the color worn during trials that could result in death sentences.

If today’s truth was proven, there might indeed be executions before sunset.

Heena looked at Seraphina and said formally, “Are you ready, Lady Seraphina?”

Seraphina looked at her with wild eyes and said, “Your Majesty, I cannot understand what this means! Why are you torturing me like this all the time?!”

Her voice rose to a hysterical shriek.

“I’ve done nothing wrong! I’m carrying a child—an innocent child! And you’ve thrown me into stables like an animal! You’ve taken everything from me! My dignity! My reputation! My—”

“Enough,” Heena said quietly.

But her voice cut through Seraphina’s tirade like a blade.

Silence fell.

Heena looked at the consorts and said, “Let’s begin the proceedings.”

She turned back to Seraphina. “Before I order the testing, I want to give you one last chance. Are you absolutely certain that this child belongs to one of the imperial consorts?”

The entire courtroom held its breath.

The consorts were looking at Seraphina with desperate eyes—silently begging her to recant, to admit she’d lied, to spare them this humiliation.

Because honestly, these consorts hadn’t seen Seraphina in quite some time. Their infatuation with her had cooled significantly. And what could you expect from rotten apples? Just like their fathers, these men cared primarily about their reputations and social standing.

But Seraphina, who had also lost so much, wasn’t about to stay silent.

She looked at Heena and said in a serious, trembling tone:

“It is their child, Your Majesty. And I have proof.”

Then, suddenly, her expression changed. She looked down, and tears began falling from her eyes.

“But… I would like this case to be concluded quickly because I do not want to be disrespectful to Your Majesty any longer.”

Her voice became softer, more pitiful.

“I’m… I’m taking back this case. I don’t care who the child’s father is anymore. I just want Your Majesty to give me something to live on, and I’ll take this child and leave this place forever.”

Some of the younger, more naive nobles in the audience felt a pang of sympathy.

But the old foxes—the experienced politicians who’d navigated court intrigue for decades—immediately sensed something wrong.

Why would a woman who’d been screaming that a consort was the father suddenly back down? What was the real reason?

They weren’t going to let this go.

Seven nobles stood up in unison and bowed to Heena.

These were representatives of the Seven Guardian Families—ancient bloodlines that had served the empire for generations before the current dynasty. Their families had been the sharpest swords protecting the realm, and they took their ancestral duty seriously.

They’d stayed silent during most of the recent political chaos because they lacked the power to oppose the consorts directly. The consorts had support from merchants, from the Church, even from the ruler herself through marriage.

But now? Now the consorts were weakened. Now there was an opportunity.

“Your Majesty,” the eldest of the seven spoke, “we petition you to allow this court to continue its proceedings.”

The consorts and their supporters looked alarmed.

The elderly noble continued: “If the consorts are proven innocent, then everything will be resolved. We can give the people a clear answer. But if today this court is dismissed without proper investigation, and it’s later proven that the consorts were involved in wrongdoing, would that not cause massive damage to the empire’s reputation?”

He looked directly at Heena.

“What would the people say? That the empire’s ruler is so biased toward her husbands that she didn’t even check the evidence properly? That she didn’t conduct thorough research and simply took her consorts’ side? How harmful would that be for Your Majesty’s reputation and the empire’s integrity?”

Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped.

Heena looked at the noble who was speaking, and her voice came out in a deadly cold tone:

“Lord Harken.”

The whole room fell into deadly silence.

Literally, a shiver ran down even the experienced politicians’ spines. They trembled as they looked at Heena.

Her expression had become completely dark and cold.

“This case will proceed to its conclusion,” she said quietly, dangerously. “But that does NOT give you the right to speak to me in that manner. Remember where you stand. Or it will not tire me in the slightest to execute one person—or three—to remind everyone of their place.”

The noble immediately dropped to his knees, his face pale. “No, Your Majesty! I did not mean any disrespect! I was simply suggesting that—”

“I know what you were suggesting,” Heena interrupted coldly. “And I know what you were implying about my judgment.”

She looked around the entire courtroom.

“This case will NOT be dismissed until it is completely resolved. But if any of you think you can speak to me disrespectfully just because you’re older or from ancient families, I will show you what the ruler’s true wrath really looks like.”

Her gaze swept across the room.

“Am I understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” came the unified response.

—

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